Two for One: Vegetable Soup with Pasta & Cheesy Potato Soup

"When baking, follow directions.  When cooking, go by your own taste."
- Laiko Bahrs

I am one of those people who loves vegetable soup.  I love it with meat, I love it with beans, I love it with pasta, I love it with barley, I love it with just vegetables.  As far as I'm concerned there are few ways to mess up a pot of vegetable soup - except with too much salt!  I've been trying out menu planning, and I will eventually (probably in 3-4 weeks) get my sample menu and weekly shopping lists up so you all can check them out.  To that end, today was Veggie Soup day on my calendar.  My four-year-old daughter, Emelyn, helped me plan the menu, and shockingly enough she loves vegetable soup almost as much as I do (may have something to do with the cornbread on the side).  My mom was helping tonight by peeling and dicing potatoes, and she dumped too many in the sink to wash.  So we ended up with two soups on the table, which suited everyone fine (except my two-year-old son, Jaxson, who splattered his everywhere).  Have fun with these just-right-for-fall soups.

Vegetable Soup with Pasta

1 can each: 

   - green beans

   - corn

   - peas

   - carrots (I had none, hence their absence in pictures)

   - diced tomatoes

   - chicken broth

   - condensed tomato soup

   - tomato sauce

   - you can also add a can of Garbanzo beans

3-5 medium potatoes, washed, peeled, diced (1/2")

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

1 cup water

1.  Empty all cans into large heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven.  Add potatoes.  Stir to combine.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer.  Simmer gently over medium-low heat (may have to turn up to medium depending on size of your pot) uncovered until potatoes are fork tender but not falling apart (approx. 45 min).

2.  Add elbow macaroni and cook until tender.  The pasta will absorb a fair amount of the liquid in the soup!!!  This is where the water comes in handy.  Once the pasta has cooked, remove the soup from the heat and add the cup of water if needed.  You may not need it, I did.  I wouldn't have if I had removed it from the cap as soon as it was tender, but I left it sitting and it kept absorbing...

Cheesy Potato Soup

~3 lb Potatoes, washed, peeled, diced (1/2")

1 lb Velveeta

Water

Salt to taste

1.  Dice potatoes directly into small amount of water in large heavy-bottomed stockpot or Dutch oven.  Add enough water to barely cover the potatoes, and salt to taste.  You will not be draining this, so go easy on the salt.  No one that I know likes brined potatoes.

2.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are easy to smash with a fork.

3.  Slice Velveeta directly into soup.  Stir until melted.  And of course, once you have the soups almost done, whip up a batch of White Lily Cornbread to have along with it.